Consensus
Consensus – A general agreement.
Let’s get weird.
I came into Year 4 with a loss of curiosity.
The sun was shining over Pine Valley Mountain as I dropped into the valley in the ol’ Yota. I can see some familiar vehicles in the parking lot. John and Shalena’s van is prominent and I can see the scoreboard. I’m excited to ride and see the Alliance. The temps are chilly but nice, probably the nicest weather we’ve had for this ride. I drop the truck into 1st gear and let the speed roll as I splash through the giant puddle outside of the trailhead. The truck slips and slides, something that will become part of the day, and pops out the other side.
The scoreboard is about twice as big as it ever has been. There’s an expectation that we will see more people, new folks, more folks, people turning themselves inside out to see where it gets them.
As I walk over and write my name on the board, I’m at a loss for what my goal is for the day. Part of me wants to get after it and push through to at least a lap more than I’ve done. Another part of me wants to hang out and take photos and just be more of a witness, but the biggest part of me wants to just get to that place. The one that is the point of this whole shindig, that break when my brain has to block out the pain and starts to do weird things. There’s the time traveling, the moving objects, the moments of complete clarity followed by a deep confusion and blurriness that is almost as pleasing. I mostly just want things to get weird.
8 o’clock rolls around. JT pulls out a horn he scored at Singlespeed Nevada and blows it to signal the start of this thing. There’s only four of us who roll out together, Kenny, Shelby, Mills and myself. My legs are tired. Garmin told me to go back to bed. I probably should have listened, but my legs know this climb and soon I settle into a rhythm, the natural speed of the one gear that I have brought.
Consensus Reality
Consensus reality is that which is generally agreed to be reality, based on a consensus view. The appeal to consensus arises from the idea that humans do not fully understand or agree upon the nature of knowledge or ontology, often making it uncertain what is real, given the vast inconsistencies between individual subjectivities.
The Masses Show Up
The four of us roll out.
As it goes, we begin to click by the obstacles one by one. Jacker Stacker, done. SOB Hill, done. Commitment Issues, done. Steep Little Mo Fo, done. Bathtub, done. Billy Goat Hill, done. Zen Drop, done. Hell Hole, done and painful as usual. Well within an hour of leaving the trailhead we are headed back north looking across the valley at the giant laccolith covered in snow. The number of cars in the parking lot has swelled. As we roll in, we can see the names on the board have as well. There are plenty of people lingering about in varying states of readiness.
I refill my bottle, put a hash mark on the board taking a quick inventory of who has signed in and then head back out. As I start clicking off the obstacles again, I begin seeing and passing people. Some I have no idea who they are while others are familiar faces I know well. It’s becoming obvious that the word got out and people are here for the show.
The dogs surprise me and are starting to slow. They had a big day playing in the snow the day before, but I was confident they could still do four laps to take the record, but as I roll in after my 2nd, it is clear that they should be done. I hand them off to Mama Bear, refill my bottle, snarf down a bar and head back out. Once again making my mark on the board and checking to see where everyone is at. The names keep multiplying and the laps are being laid down.
Breaking with Consensus Reality
It takes courage and great skill to break with consensus reality and go on functioning. Yet, we have no choice but to do so if we wish to empower ourselves and be a role model for others. Consensus reality is a rut that must be transcended and the only differences between a rut and a grave are the depth and width.
Doing the Thing
The day continues this way. Ride a lap, refuel and refill. Ride a lap.
Lap 3 was my best lap. Leading up to that point, I had felt lethargic, indifferent and could care less about riding. My body was tired and I wasn’t sure where I could take it, but things just woke up on Lap 3. My newly found legs suddenly made me feel like I could do this thing, was it 8 or maybe even 10 laps that would be on the board. I didn’t know and kind of didn’t care. I just kept riding.
The lactic acid build up in my legs continued to increase. The burn getting deeper and more easily triggered as I mashed on the pedals going up the steep, bursty climbs, but as I’m finishing Lap 6, I feel like I could keep going for at least 2 more. I roll into the pit and find a big group of folks. I assume everyone is getting ready for the Beer Lap and I’m in, but no. They weren’t. They were done and the party had already started. My motivation almost immediately waned. Kenny said he would ride a beer lap with me, but I would have to wait for him to finish his beer. I make my way to the truck and start to refuel. The delay is just enough and after some water and another bar, a few cashews, I reach into the ice chest and pull out a beer.
6 is enough for me this year.
And then the party started.
As the folks who were pushing boundaries found themselves very deep in the pain cave, the rest of us popped the top on some adult beverages and passed the chips around. Soon music requests were being taken which induced movement of the body that anyone who wasn’t white would describe as random, but we all saw as dancing. Willie Nelson made a debut and it was mostly downhill from there.
As the sun began to dip in the sky and the long shadow of the mesa crept into our shindig people began to peel off and disappear. Soon it was just a few of us having a good time and cheering on those who were truly pushing their limits.
Gettin’ ‘er Done!
There were two folks who came to set records, Joe Dirt and Mills Pablo. Two names that you should be familiar with if you have been following this thing for the past couple of years. Joe laid down 11 laps last year putting him on the record board for the most laps and Mills had done 9 laps on his singlespeed.
As the ten hours of this whole thing approached, both were in the throes of gettin’ it done.
This year Joe left the bike at home and was going for the foot record which was previously held by none other than Mama Bear with four laps. As the sun was dipping, he finished up lap five and for good measure headed out for #6 which he finished well within the 10 hours leaving the space for the possibility of seven.
Mills was there to best his own record and put down more laps than had previously been done on a singlespeed. He had time for 11 but before heading out on #9, he said he had already decided 10 was enough. He finished up with the 10 hours breaking his record.
Peirce had slept in missing the first couple of hours of riding, but once he showed up it was a go. He kept spinning laps even as the light faded putting down 8 including a 40 minute one.
There were plenty of other folks who turned themselves inside out and found their way into getting weird.
As for myself, I got the 6 mentioned and never quite got to that spot. A little disappointing but the upside was the party.
Thanks to everyone who came out and we hope you will be ready to do it all again next year.
Embrace Chaos. Seek Discomfort.
